Vaporizer mounting with automatic shutoff



July 12, 1960 H. A. DIETRICH ETAL VAPORIZER MOUNTING wrm AUTOMATIC SHUTOFF 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 FIG.

Filed May 16, 1958 IIII Illn- HAROLD A. DIETRICH WAYNE W. HAY

ATTORNEY & AGENT y 1950 H. A. DIETRICH EI'AL 2,944,545

VAPORIZER MOUNTING WITH AUTOMATIC SHUTOFF 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed May 16, 1958 INVENTORS HAROLD A. DIETRICH WAY NE W. HAY

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KMW W 5- ATTORNEY 8. AGENT United States Patent VAPORIZER MOUNTING WITH AUTOMATIC snu'ronn Harold A. Dietrich and Wayne W; Hay, Madison, Wis., assignors .to Air Reduction Company, Incorporated, New York, N.Y., a corporation of New York Filed May 16,1958, set; No. 735,785

1 Claims. (or. 128- 191) This invention relates to apparatus for the administration of volatile anesthetics and more particularly to an improved anesthetic vaporizer and'valve means associated therewith for automatically excluding the vaporizer wherein the controlled gas mixtures may be inhaled by the patient. Such machines conventionally include a vaporizer which is charged with a supply of liquid, volatile anesthetic agent such as diethyl ether and through which a stream of gas, such as oxygen, is passed and thence conveyed together with the vaporized anesthetic to the breathing or administering circuit. Alternatively another type of vaporizer may be employed for furnishing the requiredanesthetic vapors which is incorporated directly in the patients breathing circuit andin which the vapors areobtained by passing the patients respiratory gases directly .therethrough. When the latter type of vaporizer is being used or when the anesthetic is furnished.

from still another source, the first-mentionedvaporizer is desirably-excluded from the breathing circuit and rendered inoperative.

Itis, of course, important that the exclusion of this vaporizer from the circuit be assured, v

since otherwise the patient may receive an excessive quantity oftanesthetic.

I-Ieretofore, some of the anesthetic ,machines furnishing the type of vanprizerthrough which oxygen gas is metered and thencetdelivered to the patients breathing circuit have afi'orded convenient supporting arrangements for the various components of the anestheticsmachine. For example, some machines atford an arrangement for thesupport of the vaporizerpermitting it to be withdrawn insan out-of-the-wayposition if .it is not in use.

The difiiculty, however, with such. supporting arrangements is that the vaporizer, when in an out-of-t-he-way position, is not-exposed to the direct observation of the"- anesthetist and, if it hasnotbeen completely shut on so that oxygen orwotherrgas cannot flow therethrongh, willcontinue .to introduce into the breathing circuit undesired amounts'of anesthetic. 1 i

7 Accordingly, it is' an object of the present inventionto provide anesthetic administering apparatus of a compact "and convenient arrangementhaving vaporizer means ad- I Patented July 12, 1960 justably supported for placement in operative and inoperative positions and'which has associated therewith valve means operable automatically to shut 01f the delivery source of gas thereto when in the inoperative position and operable to automatically admit gas thereto when in the operative position.

A further object of the invention is to, provide an anesthetic administering apparatus having a portable cabinet and a vaporizer adjustably mounted therein adapted to be retracted within said cabinet when not in use and to be extended therefrom when intended to be placed in use, and which has associated therewith a valve in the delivery line admitting gas to said vaporizer which is automatically closed when said vaporizer is retracted within said cabinet.

' A still further object of-the invention is to provide such an improved anesthetic administering apparatus wherein said vaporizer is adjustably mounted on said cabinet by means of slidablyextending rods guided by supporting means in said cabinet-and wherein the delivery control valve for said vaporizer is a normally closed valveand cam means are provided within the cabinet to open the valve when the vaporizer is extended into operative position.

Another object of the invention is to provide such an improved anesthetic administering apparatus including an administering circuit in which the patient breathes, a

vaporizer containing a volatile liquid anesthetic agent adjustably mounted in a base cabinet of the apparatus for movement between operative and inoperative positions, a source of gas connected to said circuit through said vaporizer and through separate conduit means independently of said vaporizer, and having valve means automatically closing said vaporizer when disposed in its inoperative position, and valve means normally eifecting the closure of the conduit directly connecting said gas source with said circuit which 'is operative to deliver gas from said source to said circuit when said vaporizer is in the inoperative position. 1

Other objects and advantages of'the present invention will-be better understood by reference to the following ,descriptionof the preferred embodiment taken in connection with the attached drawings wherein:

Figure 1 is a side elevation view partially in section showing the cabinet housing of an anesthetic machine :broken away toexpose'an-adjustably mounted vaporizer according to the present invention, having slidable vaporizer supporting means and automatic shut-off valve means associated therewith, and further illustrating, schematically,- the gas delivery connection of said vaporizer'with an anesthetic administering mask means;

Figure 2 is anenlarged sectional view of the vaporizer sliding support and shut-off valve seen in Figure 1;

Figure 3 is a partial, plan sectional view, showing the 'vaporizer support, taken substantially along the lined- 3 in Figure 1 looking in the direction of the arrows;

Figure 4 is a sectional view illustratingin greater detail the automatic shut-on valve seen in Figures land 2, and showing said valve in closed position; t

7 Figure 5- is a sectional view through the vaporizer supporting means taken along the line 5--5 in Figure 3 and looking in the direction of the arrows; and

- Figure 6 is apartial section view illustrating the by- 5 pass check valve employed in the carrier gas delivery line formetering the carrier gas flow in by-pass relation to the vaporizer.

Referring now to the drawings,'10 designates a portable cabinet of a conventional type of anesthetic ma- I chine on which various elements of an anesthetic administering system may be carried as is well known. As shown in this figure, the cabinet has the usual side and back metal walls, of which the rear wall 12 may be seen in cross section, and is open at the front as shown by the opening 14. The top of cabinet 16 may furnish a useful work surface and a bank of flow meters 18 for indicating the flow rates of the various gases is shown supported thereon. The gas connections of the flow meters to the gas administering conduits, hereinafter described, have not been shown. A horizontal partition is arranged slightly below the top of the cabinet on which various of the gas fittings are conventionally supported and on which the vaporizer means of the present apparatus is supported as will be hereinafter more fully described.

A conduit 19 receives gas such as oxygen at a suitable delivery pressure, it being understood that such gas may be furnished in the conventional manner from a cylinder supported at the outside of the cabinet and furnished with the usual delivery valve and pressure regulating device. The delivery oxygen is admitted to the inlet T- fitting 20 of a bypass check valve 21, one branch of said T admitting gas to the inlet side of the valve 21 and the other branch connecting the gas source directly with the inlet side of normally closed shut-off valve 24 through a flexible tubing 26. The delivery side of the vaporizer shut-01f valve 24 is connected by tube 28 to the inlet of vaporizer 30; As will be described hereinafter in more detail, the passage of the inlet gas through the vaporizer and the control of the anesthetic vapors discharged from the vaporizer therewith is controlled by the adjusting knob 32. The gas, after passage through the vaporizer, is discharged through a flexible tube 40 which is received on an outlet T-fitting 41 of the bypass valve 21. The by-pass valve 21 is shown in section in Figure 6 and will be seen to include a ball element 21' which is urged downwardly toward its closed, seated position by a loading stem 42. In operation, gas at normal delivery pressures from supply line 19 is metered at a controllable rate through the by-pass valve by upward movement of the ball element in response to delivery pressure and a divided portion of the delivery flow is conducted through the vaporizer, depending upon the adjustment of the vaporizer control knob 32. The latter flow is then returned to the outlet fitting as above described. Gas conduit 44 extends from the fitting 41 and delivers the resultant gas-anesthetic vapor mixture through a suitable connector, fitting 45, as is conventionally furnished in the usual type of anesthetic machine, and a conduit 46 detachably connected thereto, to any suitable patient inhalation apparatus.

As shown schematically in Figure 1, such inhalation apparatus may comprise a closed anesthetic administermg circuit designated generally by the numeral 48. As will be well understood to those skilled in the art, such a circuit has the usual face mask 50 which is equipped with a conventional exhalation conduit 52 and an inhalauon conduit 54 which are received on an absorber shown at 56 in which the respiratory gases are conducted through a suitable absorbent for the removal of carbon dioxide, and recirculated to the patient. The flow of the respiratory gases in the circuit 48 is controlled by conventional check valve means. In the present example the delivery mixture of oxygen and anesthetic vapor from the vaporizer 30 are shown as introduced into the inhalation conduit 54 which gas mixture is inhaled with the gas mixture delivered from the absorber 56. The amount of oxygen mixed with the anesthetic vapors in this mode of operation conventionally constitutes the amount of oxygen required to make up the oxygen consumed by the patient. It will be understood, of course, that the vaporizer 30 may be employed to deliver anesthetic vapors to the patient in connection with any of the variously well known anesthetic administering circuits and that its use is not necessarily limited to the specific closed type of circuit illustrated by the schematic apparatus 48.

It will be seen that the vaporizer 30 and shut-off valve 24 are fixedly mounted on opposite ends of a pair of parallel slide rods 60. These rods are slidably received and supported Within elongated collars 62 of a bracket member 64 secured by means of screws 66 to the horizontal cabinet partition member 20. The slide rods and supporting fixture are also shown in Figure 5. It may be seen by reference to Figure 3 that the valve 24 is secured to a cross piece 68 which acts as a spacer and securing means for the ends of the slide rods 60. The opposite ends of the slide bars are received in protruding bosses 70 of the housing 72 forming the upper part of the vaporizer as will be later described. A cam plate '74 is arranged rearwardly of the supporting bracket and adapted to operatively engage a plunger element 76 of the shut-0E valve as will be hereinafter described. In the inoperative position of the vaporizer as shown in Figure 1, the cam plate 74 and plunger 76 are out of engagement and the normally closed valve 24 prevents the access of inlet gas to the vaporizer 30.

Referring to Figure 4, the shut-off valve 24 is shown in greater detail. Within the valve body 80 of the valve there is formed a cavity 82 in which a ball element 84 is adapted to be seated normally against the opening of the valve seat plate 86 under the pressure of a compression spring88. The valve cavity 82 is divided into two chambars by the valve seat plate 86, the upper portion of which receives the gas inlet 26 and the lower of which receives the delivery outlet 28. Arranged in opposing relation to the ball valve member 84 and slidably fitted into the chamber is a valve stem or connecting pin 90, the lower end of which bears against the ball element and the upper end of which is disposed adjacent to a flexible diaphragm member 92 forming an end closure for the valve chamber. The diaphragm is sealed around its peripheral end against the valve body by a cap 94 having an upwardly projecting barrel portion 96 within which the plunger 76 is held. Under the influence of the cam 74 shown in Figures 1 and 2 the plunger 76 is adapted to be pressed inwardly, thereby acting downwardly against the diaphragm so as to urge it inwardly of the valve chamber, causing depression of the valve stem and, in turn, causing the ball check valve 84 to be displaced away from the valve seat opening. Under these circumstances, of course, fluid is permitted to pass through the valve until such time as the downward force against the plunger 76 is removed whereupon the ball element 84 is returned to closed position by the spring 88.

Referring to Figure 2, the vaporizer 30 may be seen in greater detail. The vaporizer body 72 has a bottom opening formed by a'threaded collar 100 which is adapted to receive the correspondingly threaded neck of a glass jar 102. A suitable supply of a liquid anesthetic agent such as diethyl ether is placed in the jar up to a suitable level which may be indicated such as by the fill line at 104. With the jar in place, gas delivered through the inlet 28 is admitted past a needle valve 106 by adjustment of control knob 32. to the upper end of a down tube 108. The gas conducted down through the tube 108 passes outwardly through a porous plug 110 at the bottom thereof and bubbles upwardly through the ether liquid, rising to the space above the liquid at the top of the jar which is in communication with a collection chamber 112'in the vaporizer body. The oxygen-ether mixture then passes through opening 114 which connects with the discharge outlet 40. The vaporizer 30 is of a well known, type commonly used in the administration of anesthetics as herein described. The effect of theporous plug 110, of course, is to break up the oxygen gas stream into a multitude of small bubbles to atfordas intimate a contact as possible with the liquid agent, to thereby assist in its vaporization. Such bubbling, in efiect, produces a humidification or saturation of the oxygen 'gas with the ether that the adjustment of the control needle valve of the vaporizer permits regulation of the gas flow through the vaporizer, thereby regulating the amount of ether vapor or anesthetic vapor which is delivered to the patient.

Having now described the embodiment of the present invention shown in the drawings, its operation may now be described as follows. It may be assumed at the outset that the vaporizer 39 is not in use and, accordingly, is retracted within the cabinet as shown in Figure 1. In this position, it will be seen that the delivery valve 24 governing the flow of gas to the vaporizer is displaced rearwardly out of contact with the cam plate 74 so that the valve is in closed position as shown in Figure 4. The vaporizer may be thus positioned While the anesthetic machine is completely out of service, or it may be similarly positioned if anesthetization is being carriedout by a mixture of anesthetic gases, such as nitrous oxide, cyclopropane and oxygen which may be delivered through the 6 of inhalant anesthetic agents which atfords a'hi h degree of safety in overall operation. j

While a preferred embodiment of thisinvent'ion has been shown and described herein, it will be understood that other modifications thereof will readily occur to those skilled in'the art and that the invention is intended to be limited only to the appending claims. 1

We claim:

1. Inhalant anesthetic administering apparatus comprising a housing forming a cabinet having an anesthetic vaporizer adjustably supported therein for movement between an inoperative position in which said vaporizer is retracted within said housing and operative position in which said vaporizer is extended externally of said housing, respirator means adapted to be applied to a patient to permit the inhalation by said patient of inhalant an; esthetic mixtures, gas inlet means connected to said vaporizer for delivering a carrier gas thereto, discharge means connecting 7 said vaporizer with said respirator means for delivering said carrier gas and anesthetic vapor from said vaporizer to said, respirator, a normally closed inlet control valve in said gas inlet means and I valve actuating means supported in said housing opergas delivery line 22 and through the bypass valve 21 separately from the vaporizer circuit. Thus, with such an arrangement in operation, the brea'thing circuit shown at 48 is in use but with the necessary anesthetic gases be- 1 the by-pass check valve 21 and gas'conduit 44 as herein-1 ing delivered to'the delivery conduit 19 thence through before described. a

When the anesthetistdesires to employ the vaporizer 30, he merely grasps the vaporizer and manually moves it to its extended or operative position. Such movement, it will be seen, is made possible by extension of the supporting rods 60 through the supporting fixture 64 which simultaneously causes the delivery control valve 24 to be brought into position in contact with the cam plate 74, thus opening the inlet valve. The flexible hoses 26 and 4% which connect respectively with the inlet to the vaporizer delivery valve and to the outlet of the vaporizer accommodate the displacement of the vaporizer relative to the fixed points of connection of these hose members, thus makingit possible to maintain gas connections during movement of the vaporizer assembly between its respec tive operative and inoperative positions. With the delivery valve in open position 'as'shown in Figure 2 oxygen from the delivery line'22 is permitted access to the vaporizer in which the needle control valve is thence adjusted to meter the desired rate of flow according to theconcentration of anesthetic agent desired. The oxygen-anesthetic vapor mixture is thence carried as before described to the anesthetic administering device.

In the event that the anesthetist desires to remove the vaporizer 30 from the circuit, he conventionally closes the needle valve by adjustment of the control knob which atively arranged to open said inlet control valve in response to movement ofsaid vaporizer to said operative position.

2. Inhalant anesthetic administering apparatus according to claim 1 wherein said inlet control valve has a no.- mally closed spring-loaded valveelementpa depressible plunger means arranged to oppose said closing spring.

force and open said valve when depressed and said valve actuating means comprising a cam arranged, upon relative movement of said control valve and said cam, to

the passage of said carrier gas therethrough to said res pirator means independently of said vaporizer.

' 5. Apparatus for administering inhalane anesthetic compositions comprising a portable, self-supporting cabinet, a vaporizer for holding a supply of a liquid anesthetic agent having an inlet for receiving a supply of a carrier gas and an outlet for delivering therefrom a mixture of said carrier gas and the volatilized liquid agent, control valve means forming a part of said vaporizer for adhereinabove described that, not only is a convenient and reliable mechanism furnished for support and adjustment of the vaporizer unit, but it is impossible for the anesthetist inadvertently to retract the vaporizer to its op-.

justing theflow of said carrier gas therethrough, a longitudinally extendible supporting fixture for carrying said vaporizer and permitting its movement manually between an inoperative position in which said vaporizer is retracted within said cabinet and an operative position in which said vaporizer is extended on said supporting means to a position outside of said cabinet, gas manifold means carried onsaid cabinet, flexible conduit means connecting said manifold to said vaporizer inlet, gas connector means forming a part of said cabinet adapted to be connected by a gas conduit to a patient inhaler device, flexible conduit means connecting said vaporizer outlet with said gas connector means, an inlet control valve interposed insaid flexible conduit means connecting said gas supply manifold and said vaporizer inlet and valve actu; ating means normally closed when said vaporizer is in inoperative position operatively arranged to open said inlet control valve in'response to movement of said Vaporizer to said operative position.

6. Inhalant anesthetic administering apparatus accord ing to claim 5 wherein said inlet control valve means is carried by said longitudinally extendible supporting fixture so as to be movable in unison therewith and said valve actuating means comprises cam means rigidly mounted in said cabinet and arranged upon relative movement of said inlet valve means to actuate said valve means when said vaporizer is placed in operative position.

7. Inhalant anesthetic administering apparatus-accord ing to claim 5 having by-pass means including a flow restricting valve connecting said gas manifold means and said gas connector means in parallel flow arrangement 5 with respect to said vaporizer.

No references cited. 

